Shipp earns honors for second time

Senior guard Shi-Heria Shipp was named to the American Athletic Conference and Big 5 honor rolls Monday for the second time this season.

The George Washington transfer posted game-highs of 17 points and 16 rebounds in Temple’s 61-52 road win at Montana on Saturday en route to the honors.

Through her team’s seven games to date, Shipp has averaged 11.6 points-per-game for Temple (5-2) in her debut season.

-Andrew Parent

Former football coach elected to Hall of Fame

Wayne Hardin, who coached the football team from 1970 to 1982, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday night.

Hardin put up an 80-52-3 record in his 13 seasons and has the most wins of any coach in program history. He was at the helm when the Owls got their first bowl win, at the Garden State Bowl in 1979, when Temple defeated California.

“This is a great day for Temple University,” Athletic Director Kevin Clark said in a statement in April.. “Wayne Hardin is not only a Hall of Fame football coach, but a Hall of Fame person.  The entire Temple community is grateful that he has been selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.”

Coaches: No severance packages

According to a university official, the nine coaches departing as a result of the recently announced sports cuts were all signed to one-year contracts.

The athletics department is not commenting on financial specifics involved in those deals. Third-year baseball coach Ryan Wheeler said that, to his knowledge, none of the departing staff will receive severance packages. Gavin White, who has been with the university for 34 seasons as head coach for men’s crew, said he will not receive a package. White said he is signed to a one-year deal like the other coaches.

The official said that the exception to the one-year contracts are for the revenue sports at Temple, basketball and football.

Crew coach Gavin White | JACOB COLON TTN

Gavin White has been with the university for 34 years as head crew coach.| JACOB COLON TTN

Schuylkill Navy responds to cuts

Margaret Meigs of the Schuylkill Navy has penned an open letter on Temple’s recent cuts to the sports department that included the men’s crew and women’s rowing teams:

We are shocked and saddened by Temple University’s decision to drop rowing from its sports programs. Temple men’s and women’s crew have an illustrious competitive history with the men winning an unprecedented 20 championship titles at the Dad Vail Regatta here on the Schuylkill.

We stand in support of Coach Gavin White and Coach Rebecca Grzybowski and, especially, the student athletes whose very last season may suddenly and unexpectedly be upon them.

Announced in 2012, Temple’s initiative to build a new boathouse on the east bank of the Schuylkill and, as part of the proposal, to fund a substantial portion of the renovation of the Canoe House, was a hopeful and welcome sign to the rowing community that Temple’s program continued to be a strong one.

The Schuylkill Navy supports all efforts to work with the University to reconsider this decision and to ensure that Temple boats continue their presence on the Schuylkill and rowing venues everywhere. 

Owls return home to face Hawks

Temple (3-3) will face St. Joe’s (4-2) on Wednesday night in the Liacouras Center at 8 p.m.

This season marks the first time in 67 years that the Hawks and Owls are competing in difference conferences. In the most recent meeting between the two teams back in February, St. Joe’s beat Temple 70-69. The Owls are 46-18 all time in home games against the Hawks.

Temple is coming off a pair of consecutive wins at the Charleston Classic, as senior guard Dalton Pepper set new career highs in points in both games – 22 points against Georgia and 24 points against UAB.

Noble leaves team

Defensive line coach Brandon Noble has left the team due to personal reasons, head coach Matt Rhule announced in a press conference Monday.

This was Noble’s first season with the Owls, after previously serving as a defensive line coach at Coastal Carolina University and West Chester University. Noble was a former teammate of Rhule’s at Penn State.